Bruno Loerzer
Officer in the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I and Luftwaffe during World War II
Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 – 23 August 1960) was a German air force officer during World War I and World War II. Credited with 44 aerial victories during World War I, he was one of Germany's leading flying aces, as well as commander of one of the first Imperial German Air Service Jagdeschwaders.
Loerzer's close friendship with Hermann Göring led to Loerzer's service in the World War II Luftwaffe, with subsequent promotion to Generaloberst by the war's end. Göring described Loerzer as "his laziest general", but swept aside criticisms of him, commenting, "I need someone I can drink a bottle of red wine with in the evening."
Career
Loerzer was born on 22 January 1891 in Friedenau, a locality in Berlin, the capital of the German Empire.
World War I
Born in Berlin, Loerzer was a prewar army officer who learned to fly in 1914. Hermann Göring flew as Loerzer's observer from 28 October 1914 until late June 1915. Transferring to fighters, Loerzer flew with two Jagdstaffeln in 1916. On 18 January 1917, he was appointed leader of the newly formed Jagdstaffel 26. By then, he had scored two victories over French aircraft. He had his aircraft painted distinctively striped in black and white. As his victory score mounted, he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and House Order of Hohenzollern.
The public source identifies “Bruno Loerzer” as officer in the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I and Luftwaffe during World War II. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bruno, Loerzer and Officer.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q60443. VIAF identifies the subject as 75791605. The Library of Congress control number is n2008060136. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1891, 1960, 1914 and 1915.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bruno Loerzer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.